The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Internal combustion engines combust an air/fuel (A/F) mixture within cylinders to drive pistons that rotatably turn a crankshaft generating drive torque. The drive torque may be transferred from the crankshaft to a driveline (e.g., wheels) of a vehicle via a transmission. More specifically, the transmission may translate (i.e., multiply) the drive torque on the crankshaft to drive torque at the wheels of the vehicle. A torque converter (e.g., a fluid coupling) may selectively couple the transmission to the crankshaft.
The torque converter may also include a torque converter clutch (TCC). For example, the TCC may be referred to as a “lock-up clutch.” In other words, the TCC may be selectively engaged to link the crankshaft with an input shaft of the transmission. The TCC may be controlled in any suitable manner. Specifically, application of the TCC may be controlled by applying a fluid or mechanical pressure to the TCC. For example, a level of engagement of the TCC may be controlled based on an amount of hydraulic fluid in the TCC.